In a Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 organization, a Client Access server can act as a proxy for other Client Access servers within the organization. This is useful when multiple Client Access servers are present in different Active Directory sites in an organization and at least one of those sites isn’t exposed to the Internet.

A Client Access server can also perform redirection for Microsoft Office Outlook Web App URLs and for Exchange ActiveSync devices. Redirection is useful when a user connects to a Client Access server that isn’t in their local Active Directory site or if a mailbox has moved between Active Directory sites. It’s also useful if the user should be using a better URL, for example, one that’s closer to the Active Directory site their mailbox resides in.

Although the Client Access server’s response can vary by protocol, when a Client Access server receives a request for a user whose mailbox is in an Active Directory site other than the one the Client Access server belongs to, it looks for the presence of an ExternalURL property on the relevant virtual directory on a Client Access server that’s in the same Active Directory site as the user’s mailbox. If the ExternalURL property exists, and the client type supports redirection (for example, Outlook Web App or Exchange ActiveSync), the Client Access server will issue a redirect to that client. If there’s no ExternalURL property present, or if the client type doesn’t support redirection (for example, POP3 or IMAP4), the Client Access server will try to proxy the connection to the target Active Directory site.

This topic explains proxying and redirection, when each is used, and how to configure your Client Access servers for each scenario.

Overview of Proxying

In Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, the front-end server communicates with the back-end server over HTTP. In Exchange Server 2007 and Exchange 2010, the Client Access server communicates with an Exchange Mailbox server over RPC. You must have an Exchange 2010 Client Access server in every Active Directory site that contains an Exchange 2010 Mailbox server. Proxying occurs when one Client Access server sends traffic to another Client Access server. An Exchange 2010 Client Access server can proxy requests in the following situations:

• Between Exchange 2010 Client Access servers Proxying requests between two Exchange 2010 Client Access servers enables organizations that have multiple Active Directory sites to designate one Client Access server as an Internet-facing server and have that server proxy requests to Client Access servers in sites that have no Internet presence. The Internet-facing Client Access server then proxies the request to the Client Access server closest to the user’s mailbox.
• Between an Exchange 2010 Client Access server and Exchange 2007 Client Access servers Proxying requests between an Exchange 2010 Client Access server and an Exchange 2007 Client Access server within one Active Directory site or between Active Directory sites enables Exchange 2010 and Exchange 2007 to coexist in the same organization.

Proxying is supported for clients that use Outlook Web App, Exchange ActiveSync, the Exchange Control Panel (ECP), POP3, IMAP4, and Exchange Web Services. Proxying is supported from one Client Access server to another Client Access server when the destination Client Access server is running the same version of Microsoft Exchange as, or an earlier version of Microsoft Exchange than, the source Client Access server.

Client Access proxying

In the previous figure, the mailbox of User 1 is located on Mailbox server 1. The mailbox of User 2 is located on Mailbox server 2, and the mailbox of User 3 is located on Mailbox server 3. Each Mailbox server is in a different Active Directory site. User 1 can access their mailbox through Client Access server 1 without using proxying, and User 2 can access their mailbox through Client Access server 2. If User 3 tries to access their mailbox through Client Access server 1 or 2, either server will proxy their request to Client Access server 3. Client Access server 3 isn’t Internet facing but can receive requests from other servers inside the firewall. Proxying isn’t visible to the user.

Overview of Redirection

Outlook Web App users who access an Internet-facing Client Access server in a different Active Directory site than the site that contains their mailbox can be redirected to the Client Access server in the same site as their Mailbox server if that Client Access server is Internet facing. When an Outlook Web App user tries to connect to a Client Access server outside the Active Directory site that contains their Mailbox server, they’ll see a Web page that contains a link to the correct Client Access server for their mailbox. This is known as manual redirection. In Exchange 2010 SP2, administrators can configure cross-site silent redirection to enable this redirection process to happen without the user’s knowledge. For more information, see Cross-Site Silent Redirection later in this topic.

Exchange ActiveSync users who access an Internet-facing Client Access server in a different Active Directory site than the site that contains their mailbox can be redirected to the Client Access server in the same site as their Mailbox server if that Client Access server is Internet facing and if the client mobile phone or device has correctly implemented the redirection logic built in to the protocol that’s used when communicating with Exchange 2007 and Exchange 2010. The redirection for Exchange ActiveSync users is achieved by sending the device an HTTP 451 error code that contains the URL the device should be using. The device then reconfigures itself to use the new URL.

The following figure shows how redirection works in an organization that has multiple Client Access servers in multiple Active Directory sites.

Redirection for Exchange ActiveSync and Outlook Web App in Exchange 2010

In the previous figure, User 1 usually accesses their mailbox in Active Directory site 1 using their mobile phone. The administrator then moves their mailbox to Mailbox server 2 in Active Directory site 2. The next time the device tries to synchronize, the server responds with an HTTP 451 status error. This contains the URL the device should now use for that user. In step 3 of the sequence, the device reconfigures itself and connects to the specified URL. User 2, whose mailbox is in Active Directory site 2, tries to open their mailbox using Outlook Web App by connecting to Client Access server 1 over the Internet. With manual redirection, as soon as the user authenticates, Client Access server 1 presents a page to the user, with a link to the Outlook Web App URL for the Client Access server in Active Directory site 2. The user clicks the link, is taken to Active Directory site 2, and signs in again to access their mailbox.With silent redirection, when the user authenticates, they’re silently redirected to the Outlook Web App URL for the Client Access server in Active Directory site 2.

-Jacob Eker, PEI

As technology consultants and engineers we preach to our prospective and current clients every day about technology enabling businesses and the success of organizations.  I’ve been selling technology for over 15 years and it has never been more evident to me that this is absolutely a truth.  I’ve had the enormous joy of welcoming my first child this past November and with her arrival came the instantaneous job of ‘juggler’.  I’ve never been to the circus but I’ve seen jugglers on the street and let me tell you it’s not as easy as it looks.  My metaphorical jugging of course is the work, life, family set that we working parents must balance and try to do it well.

Fortunately for me I work for a technology company that has has daily routine of practicing what we preach. Each employee has a laptop, headset, camera and cell phone. Doesn’t sound remarcable but oh the things we can do. Today for instance I was booked back to back with meetings, lunch dates, proposals and family. I had such limited time I wasnt sure how to get it all done. In fact I’m finishing this article on my smartphone while waiting for a doctor’s appointment. But I was able to do it through the magic of integrated phone, video and document sharing. Namely Microsoft.

While working on a document I needed an answer from my engineer, I saw from my Lync window that he was on the road and called his cell, conferenced in my client and finished his proposal. I then uploaded it to Sharepoint where my director could approve at his leasure and emailed the client directly when he was done. 1 down.

Then while on my way to a lunch meeting my mobile Lync client alerted me to an instant message from my purchasing manager. I used my Bluetooth headset to call him and finish an order that had to ship today. 2 down.

During my lunch meeting I realized my client needed me on a video conference in about 20 minutes and I was an hour from my office. I pulled into a coffee shop with wireless, logged in and used the same Bluetooth headset to do a video call and answer their questions. Realizing they needed more of my time but I had to hit the road again I seemlessly transferred the call without them knowing to my cell and jumped into my car. 3 down.

Now I am finishing this ariticle on my smartphone 4 down 1 to go…and hope the doctor can be as efficient and on time as I am with Lync so I can have dinner with my family. Whew. And now the doctor is 20 minutes late …she must not she using Microsoft tools. PEI can definately help her and your organization become expert jugglers in this crazy circus we call life.

-Jennifer Smith, PEI

Based on Industry outlook reports from groups like Information Week and Gartner, it appears that, despite the soft economy, business will continue to invest in IT initiatives that will help expand their business, improve their ability to communicate with customers, vendors and co-workers, extend their brand.

What we’ve been hearing from our customers echoes these reports. The following are some of the areas that will drive core IT spending:

Unified Communications and Mobility. UC projects can take many forms, but a common thread has been the demand to integrate mobile devices (such as Smartphones and Tablets) with the Unified Communication infrastructure current deployed. Given the Apps that are available now, and some of the new resources for video and audio conferencing from organizations such as Microsoft and Polycom, business are coming up with new and creative demands for connectivity and applications. Some of the UC/mobility initiatives we’ve seen lately include “remote sales force”, “work from home”, “small office/home office”, and “on location professional services”.

Data Center Infrastructure. Virtualizing servers and storage and updating data centers to be more redundant, automated and energy efficient were the tip of the iceberg. Businesses are still pursuing these goals, but most companies have only addressed a faction of what can be done. The true economies of scale and cost savings come from a more comprehensive virtualization strategy. Customers understand this and are taking their Data Center designs to the next level. Disaster recovery, management, site recovery and better storage scaling and management are at the heart of these follow on phases. The growth in public and private cloud services will force small and large organizations alike into re-architecting their data center.

Virtual Desktop Pilots. Most companies aren’t ready to take the plunge with converting to a Virtual Desktop (VDI) environment, but many are beginning to understand the inherent value that VDI can bring. The pilot approach allows an organization to work out the technical issues, build a system administration and management model, and begin to calculate the Total Cost of Ownership. The VDI model is no longer restricted to enterprise-sized organization. Small and Medium businesses, especially those with a diverse number of applications, are now starting to take serious interest in VDI.

Management and Monitoring. The recession may appear to be waning, but companies are still forced to do more with less. Advanced technologies, applications that come from blended public and private clouds, mobile work forces, and other new technologies are changing the game. The savings and productivity gains realized are allowing business to outsource management and monitoring services to organizations uniquely suited to supporting these evolving solutions.

-Tim Krueger, PEI

Customer Appreciation Bash!

Time to show our customers some love!  Come stop by the Ale House for beer and appetizers!!  Thank you again for being such an essential part of our continued success in the last year!

Date:

February 2, 2012

4:00 pm- 7:00 pm

Location:

Ale House at Amato’s

2501 16th Street

Denver, CO 80211

RSVP

andrea@pei.com

COUCUG is run by an independent group of technologists who focus on Microsoft Unified Communications products and solutions.

Hope everyone had a great Holiday Season! We will be kicking off the New Year with a special session at the Polycom Solution Center in Westminster. We will be discussing the Lync Mobility bits that were released in the middle of December. Afterwards stick around and hang out with folks and check out Polycom’s Lync solutions. Drinks and appetizers will be provided!

Date: January 26, 2012

Time: 4pm-7pm

Location: Polycom Solution Center

1765 W 121st Avenue

Westminster, CO 80234

Agenda:

4:00

Welcome and Introductions

4:15-4:45

Lync Mobility- Usability and Features

4:45-5:30

Lync Mobility- Deployment, Configuration, and Troubleshooting

5:30-7:00

Polycom Open House and Lync Integration Demonstrations

(Beer, Wine and Appetizers provided by Polycom)

RSVP Today at www.coucug.org

With the advances in technology, backups have never been easier. There are so many options of backing up to the cloud and disk based backup, the need for the traditional tape backup is no longer out there. PEI was able to help the above mentioned client and many others avoid disaster but should they have not had the right tools in place, then the business would have lost out on hundreds of thousands in revenue. I want to take this opportunity to remind everyone that a proper back-up strategy is vital to your business and should you need any assistance in designing, implementing or testing your backup strategy, PEI is always there to help.

-Arash Zadeh, PEI

Within the Project Management Office there are two different levels of management, project and portfolio. Project management is usually defined as the management of a specific set of goals and objectives to occur within a defined time period. Projects can vary widely in terms of duration and budget. Portfolio management can be defined in a couple of ways. A portfolio can be a group of similar projects that achieve an overall goal. An example might be implementing several pieces of technology in an infrastructure modernization intuitive. In this type of portfolio there may be multiple projects leading to a common outcome. Another definition for portfolio management is the overall management of all projects within a department or company. Companies as well as project management offices have found business intelligence particularly useful at this level. Metrics that can be measured across an enterprise include financial status, resource planning / allocation and ensuring that individual projects are being completed in the correct order based on a company’s tactical and strategic goals.

-Dan Thompson, PEI

We’ve been hearing it for a few years now, but many predict THIS will be the year desktop virtualization takes over the world. (Literally? Figuratively? Who knows – but it will be awesome?!)

While it’s been a hot topic, many people aren’t sure what desktop virtualization is all about. According to PCMAG.COM’s Encyclopedia, the definition of desktop virtualization is:

A thin client architecture in which each user’s desktop, which includes the operating system and applications, runs in a separated “virtual machine” partition in a server on the network. Commonly called “virtual desktop infrastructure” (VDI), the desktop is delivered over the network in real time to the user’s PC, which functions only as an input/output (I/O) terminal. The data processing is performed in the server.

(http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=desktop+virtualization&i=55453,00.asp)

That seems great. But who should be using this, and why? What are the not-so-awesome aspects of desktop virtualization? Are there any different “flavors” of desktop virtualization? According to CIO magazine (www.cio.com), there are five: Remote Hosted Desktops, Remote Virtual Applications, Remote Hosted Dedicated Virtual Desktops, Local Virtual Applications, and Local Virtual OS. One “flavor” isn’t better than another; it just depends on which scenario is best for a particular company. And each has their own pros and cons. Take a look at this article for a deeper look into the topic:

http://www.cio.com/article/504348/Desktop_Virtualization_5_Most_Popular_Flavors_Explained

There are a few reasons in general as to why many in IT are excited about Desktop Virtualization: simplified desktop and application management, reduced costs (application deployment, overall cost of the product is decreasing, etc.), easier access to deployment in remote or branch offices, and allowing a customer to access their data from multiple devices while maintaining company compliance and corporate security. There are a few negatives, such as reliance on a connection to a corporate or public network, difficulty in running some complex applications (multimedia, etc.), and increased downtime in the event of network failures.

VMWare offers many desktop solutions.

To learn more, visit: http://www.vmware.com/solutions/desktop/

-Erika Larson, PEI

Happy New Year! With a fresh new year comes an opportunity to tackle some of the items that you may have put off because they were not the most urgent on your list but something you know needs to be addressed because it is important. For many this task may be evaluating your current Virtualization back up strategy. There are many ways to accomplish your virtualization backups. In order to choose the most efficient and effective solution you need to consider the specifics of your particular organization and decide which combination is the right fit for you.

Traditional backup systems have a one-to-one relationship with servers. These tried-and-true backup systems and associated software already support storage-area networks (SAN), fiber optics, and the latest operating system and server hardware updates. But they are not geared specifically for the complex world of virtualization, which involves multiple guest operating systems on the same box.

In todays virtualized environment backups and being able to recover from a disaster is a vital part of any business continuity and plan. There are multiple mediums and resources available to help develop a solid recovery plan. Today there are three popular strategies for backing up an organizations virtual infrastructure. The first and most common solution is putting software agents on each virtual machine and then using traditional back up software. A second approach is to create an image of the VM and use a storage service hosted somewhere else or take daily snapshots of the logical unit number (LUN).

A third alternative is to utilize a tool that incrementally archives the VM. This means that it copies only what has changed since the last back up. The major benefit to this solution is that it allows the capability to restore a single file, even from one of the 27 guest operating systems that all reside on the physical server.

Many organizations go the route of backup agents and traditional backup software because that’s what they have done in the past in their physical server environment. Be cautious when considering this approach, costs can be high because of the number and scale of the VMs and licensing required.

A new trend that more and more organizations or moving towards is VM snaphots. Creating a mirror of the VM volumes provides more flexibility, reduces costs and allows a company to substantiate and entire location.

Another popular solution being implemented today is continuous data protection. For environments that have little tolerance for downtime continuous data protection can greatly reduce the time of recovery and administrative support required for the recovery.

Depending on what is most critical to your organization a combination or blend of these approaches may be the best solution. The blended solution may add more management complexity but the restoration process is more efficient and effective. A critical factor in your virtualized backup solution is to make sure that you have the ability to test and successfully restore from backup to a production ready environment. One of the key benefits in working with a virtualized environment is that it is rather easy to set up a separate test area on a different subnet that will allow you to confirm that the backup was done properly and that you can successfully recover from a disaster.

To read more about PEI and virtualization please visit http://pei.com/solutions/virtualization/

To get in contact with us please visit http://pei.com/contact-us/

-Jon Eyberg, PEI

Last year I took on the responsibility of customizing our Microsoft Dynamics CRM, implementing the solution and training end users. I ran into some issues and figured out little tweaks along the way. Just to preface, I had never used a CRM before, nor did I really have experience customizing such an integrated database. On the other hand, I have made databases in Microsoft Access, I learned SQL and VBA in school and I consider myself a quick learner when it comes to software and interfaces. It’s safe to say, I’m a Rookie. From one rookie to another, here are my recommendations for customizing CRM.

Q: Should I add custom fields?

A: Yes! The forms that come with the program are nice. They include a lot of fields and titles that you use, some you may not. For example, at PEI, Pipeline Phase (pre-CRM) was a combination of close percentage and a hot, warm or cold designation. To avoid confusion, I removed the Pipeline Phase field and added three custom ones- Stage, Probability, and Rating. Stage lets us know where the opportunity is in the sales process, while Probability and Rating indicate likelihood of close and urgency respectively. By using custom fields our account managers do not need to speak in different terms than they are accustomed to, thus simplifying the training process and increasing utilization. Make sure you give your custom fields unique names and simple descriptions. I made the mistake of adding three fields called Connected and should have included what each connection meant. That may be confusing to future administrators.

Q: How do I choose a field type?

A: Options are your friends. Predefining the available options for a field will help standardize your data, reduce errors and quicken the data entry process. Keep in mind that consistent data is crucial to the reporting features within CRM. While customizing CRM, I edited some of the built-in pick lists and created new ones. We put pick lists in wherever they made sense, and for a few we added an additional text box should more detail be required. For example, we have a custom pick list for Industry but sometimes an account manager may want to specify a subcategory of the industry. Pick lists should only be used when the user must select a single value from an array of options. Radio buttons are most useful when the user must select from one of two options, like “yes” or “no.” Checkboxes are better for items where the user may need to make multiple selections. I’ve learned that text boxes are often necessary, but that doesn’t mean I like them. My rookie recommendation is only use text boxes when you have to as you are customizing CRM.

Q: How do you eat an Elephant?

A: One bite at a time! CRM is a big program. It’s a lot to digest so it is important to tackle it one piece at a time. Plan ahead by determining what fields you will use, what new fields you will need to create and how you want the information entered. When you actually go in to make the edits, do it one entity at a time. Several times I had to ask myself “What form needed that field,” “Did I put that under accounts or contacts,” and, my favorite, “Where did that just go!?” My slightly scattered approach left me searching for lost fields and bouncing between forms. Once you have the forms created, then start on custom views, dashboards, charts, reports and all that other good stuff CRM has to offer.

If you are attempting to customize your CRM solution, please contact us and maybe I can help!  http://pei.com/contact-us/

Heidi Christensen, PEI